Ron Onesti: 'My Way' turns 50

For my Taylor Street Italian dad, there just wasn't anybody like Frank Sinatra. He was the end all, the man of all men. Frank was HIS Beatles, HIS Elvis.

And my dad's Numero Uno song? Frank's version of "My Way."

My years in the entertainment biz have afforded me some priceless experiences. I have rubbed elbows with legendary rock 'n' roll Hall of Famers and palled around with "one hit wonders."

On my short list of memorable, immeasurably cool encounters is the relationship I have fostered with the great singer, songwriter and movie star Paul Anka. He has penned more than 1,000 songs for himself and others, including "I'm Just A Lonely Boy," "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" and "Diana," which all skyrocketed to No. 1 for Paul, and the theme from "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and "She's A Lady" by Tom Jones, among so many others.

More importantly for me, he wrote the English version of my dad's favorite song, "My Way."

The Sinatra recording of "My Way" turned 50 years old last week. It was March 30, 1969, when Frank brought 40 musicians and his musical director Bill Miller into the studios of United Western Recorders in Hollywood to record the song.

After his last sold-out performance at The Arcada, Mr. Anka joined me for dinner on the third floor of the theater in the Jean Harlow Room of Club Arcada. He gave me the story of how and why he wrote the song.

It turns out Frank and Paul were great friends back in the '60s. Paul, a teen heartthrob then, was quite younger than Frank. Frank would call him "Kid." Sinatra would on occasion ask "the kid" when he was going to write him a song.

Paul would be humbled by the request, but unsure of the song he could write for Sinatra, as Anka was 26 years old at the time and putting out pop-love tunes.

But then he got the call from Frank, who told him he was going to retire after putting out one more album. "Where's that song you were going to write for me, Kid?" he said to Anka.

Paul was living in France and was a fan of a song that was popular out there at the time. It was the same song David Bowie tried to rewrite a few months earlier. Anka acquired the melody of the song but rewrote the words to reflect Frank's final curtain call:

And now, the end is near

And so I face the final curtain

Paul wrote it in one night, finishing it at 5 a.m. He had a local vocalist record the song on a tape recorder. He then flew out to Miami Beach where Frank was filming the detective movie "Tony Rome." Anka presented the song to Frank, telling him they really had something special here. Frank seemed unfazed though.

About three months later, the phone rang at Paul's home. It was Sinatra. "Hey Kid, listen to this," Frank said to a nervous Anka on the other end of the line. It was Frank's version of "My Way."

"I immediately started to cry," Paul said to me. "It was a defining point in my career."

The song became Frank's anthem and ironically propelled him again to the point that retirement was not an option. It has since been recorded by several other superstars, including Elvis and the Sex Pistols.

For 50 years this week, "My Way" has been one of those songs that hit home for so many people. It underscores the challenges people have gone through during their lives, the ups and downs, the survival after hardship and tragedy.

For me, it will always be about my dad, who sang it at the top of his lungs, especially closer to the end of his years. And I got to say "Thank you" to the guy who wrote the song that defined my father's life.

For what is man, what has he got?

If not himself, then he has naught

To say the things he truly feels

And not the words of one who kneels

The record shows I took the blows

And did it my way

If that doesn't say it all, I really don't know what does.

• Ron Onesti is president and CEO of The Onesti Entertainment Corp. and The Historic Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. Celebrity questions and comments? Email ron@oshows.com.